Star Trek: Sorrow in Oblivion
by Nicholas Remas III
Summary: When Captain Roxford is called out to DS9 for repairs to the USS James T Kirk, he finds that Starfleet has other things in mind for him. Some of those things mean tangling up with the Borg. Something seems fishy to Roxford, he just can't seem to put his finger on it. And, his first officer Redouin is no help at all. A post DS9 story and prior to the Road to 2409.


Chapter I: Blood from an Orange

_Captain's Log, Stardate 56877.6, the USS James T Kirk has successfully docked at the Alpha Quadrant space station, Deep Space 9. She is to undergo repairs to her hull and warp drive following a long overdue leakage from the Orion battle on Rigel VII. Starfleet has ordered our repairs to Priority One, instructing me to see the commanding officer of this station for debriefing. Roxford out._

Deep Space 9, the Cardassian jewel adrift above Bajora, stolen by the Federation in the midst of the Cardassian Occupation. Known by its Cardassian constructors as Terok Nor, DS9 houses the _USS James T Kirk_ for repairs following a firefight with the Orion pirates aboard the now defunct ship, _U'Ban'Magn_. Here he was, the captain of a starship waiting for repairs in a disputed zone. Captain Roxford hated turbolifts. He hated them with a passion. He put up with them on his ship but, stationside turbolifts tended to run slower than shipside. But, since the _USS James T Kirk_ docked at DS9 for repairs, he had no choice. The turbolifts were there and he had to use them. "Why is it the _Kirk_ always needs something?" Captain Roxford grumbled. "Data would know how to make it push farther than it does. Although, if he had Admiral Scott, it wouldn't matter. Then, I could captain the Enterprise-E."

"Not everyone can be a Kirk or Picard." A black-haired Romulan rebutted in an almost Vulcan monotone.

"And, not everyone can emulate Ambassador Spock." The captain retorted. At that moment, the lift doors opened. Before he could step out, he noticed a brown-haired boy in an admiral's uniform. "Good day, Admiral McCoy, I take it your great grandfather is well?" Victor McCoy nodded. He proceeded to get onto the lift as Captain Roxford and the Romulan exited. Roxford looked around trying to get his bearings. It was the first time he ever had the chance to see the inside of DS9. He once beamed down to Bajora, but only for a brief stay. That was before the attack by the Jem'Hadar and Captain Sisko's descent into the nexus.

Roxford never thought himself much to look at. His red locks thinned to a mere Charlie Brown-like do. One of his eyes, left blind in his survival of an attack on Rigel VII, remained behind his least favorite eye patch. He was too cheap to get the ocular implant that Geordi LaForge had. But, it was that attack on Rigel VII that left him in command of the _Kirk_, promoting him to acting captain, until Starfleet bestowed the title permanently, about three years ago. Poor Captain Mumsford. In 2374, Renquist Mumsford had been captain of the _USS James T Kirk_ for six years, when Orions bombarded Rigel VII, killing the him and his first officer, leaving Roxford as captain. Roxford never understood how a highly decorated member of Starfleet that survived the battle of Sector 001 could die so easily. But, if that had not been the case, Roxford would have never been the captain.

"Captain," the Romulan suddenly stopped rather abruptly in front of the office of Admiral Scott, current commanding officer of DS9, "I believe we were to report here first." The Romulan and Captain Roxford entered the office, spoke to the secretary, and waited. A grey and blue rug with the Starfleet emblem in the middle, outlined by equally grey walls only made Roxford sleepy.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the secretary looked up from her computer and said, "The admiral will see you, now."

Captain Roxford and the Romulan entered into the inner office. Upon their entrance, they were greeted by a man with graying red hair. The captain swore he looked just like Vice Admiral Montgomery Scott. Which, of course, was not hard to see, since the plaque on his desk read: _Rear Admiral Louis Victor Scott_. The great grandson of the recently deceased Montgomery Scott. "Admiral." Roxford greeted.

"Captain John C Roxford, I presume?" Louis addressed Roxford and then as Roxford nodded, turned to the Romulan, with a disgusted lilt in his voice, "Commander?" It was to be expected, after all the undesirable relations Starfleet had with the Romulan Star Empire. Romulans had only begun conducting joint missions and admitting members to Starfleet as early as the Dominion War.

"Redouin," the Romulan commented his name, despite knowing that Admiral Scott could care less, "first officer aboard the _Kirk_, sir."

"Right." Louis didn't seem impressed. He turned back to his computer, pressing a button and activating a hologram projector. An M-type planet in the Forsythe system, called Rebulon XII appeared. "This is Rebulon XII, a class M-type planet. It is here you will rendezvous with the _USS Spock, USS Enterprise-E, _and the _USS Montgomery Scott_." He paused a moment, "Recently, we sent scouts in that direction. The reports from the vessels were quite disturbing, something along the lines of a massive Borg ship. All those vessels have been lost."

"Lost?" Roxford questioned. "No offense, Admiral; but, what in the blazes do you think four ships will accomplish against a massive, heavily armed Borg vessel?"

Louis looked as though he wanted to laugh, "Captain Roxford, the majority of the fleet is to be assembled here at DS9 within the week. At the _Enterprise_'s signal, we will meet you there. Your job is to assist Captain Data and Worf, both of whom have encountered the Borg before. Captain Scott is to inspect the planet surface for Borg action. Let me remind you, Captain, you are not going into this blind."

"Yes, sir." Roxford responded. "I, too, have battled the Borg." He paused. "The _USS James T Kirk_ was present at the Battle of Sector 001. At the time, it was under the command of Captain Renquist Mumsford."

"I am aware of whom commanded the vessel before you, Roxford."

"Then, I am sure you are aware that this mission is a suicide mission. And, for your sake, I hope the reports proves false, _sir._"

"Good." Louis affirmed Roxford's obedience and suggestions. Like a good Scot, he ignored any thoughts of a no-win scenario. "You may peruse DS9 until the _USS James T Kirk_ finishes its refit."

"Refit, Admiral?" Roxford was confused. His fingers were getting antsy. It meant a longer stay. As it was, he hated stations. "I docked for repairs, as per my orders from Starfleet."

"Yes, refit, Captain. It appears Starfleet has rescinded your orders and replaced them with new ones." Louis turned back to his computer. "You are dismissed." When Roxford did not leave right away, he repeated, "I said, you are dismissed, Captain." Roxford jumped and scurried out of the Admiral's office.

For a while, Roxford and Redouin walked in silence. Redouin didn't mind. Roxford was too worried to care what Redouin minded or not. When they came within ten feet of Quark's, he asked himself, rather aloud, "What the bloody hell was his problem?" A few passersby turned their heads.

To which Redouin answered, "The admiral is probably ill-at-ease in the thought of endangering his son."

Odo wandered about the deck of a massive ship. The likes of which he only heard fairytales of. The Great Link, the poor Founders were no longer. For centuries, Odo's kind controlled a vast majority of the Gamma Quadrant. If he remembered correctly, Captain Sisko called these people hooked to machines, Borg, which meant the Changelings were now Borg.

The Queen reserved a particular spot for him, surveying the transport of all her drones. The Collective did not see it necessary to assimilate the servant races of the Changelings. The would continue to serve.

For some reason, Odo was immune to assimilation. Maybe it was because he could no longer change. Whatever the reason was, it left him the only Changeling in the galaxy. The Borg now had the ability to appear something other than Borg. That left a foul taste in Odo's mouth. As the last of his kind, for he could not consider the assimilated ones as the same, he alone held no power over the Dominion. The Borg were quite clear, if he tried to betray them, what they would do to him would make him wish he were dead.

"Captain, you've already had four of those. Are you seriously going to have more?" Redouin complain. He watched as his captain lost more and more latinum in Dabo.

"Another." Roxford exclaimed as a Bajoran waitress walked passed him. When she brought him another drink to replace his empty glass, he downed the drink and called out before she could scurry away, "I said, another."

"Captain," Redouin began again.

Don't you lecture me, Romulan. If you feared death the same way we humans did, you wouldn't worry about how much alcohol you drank. As a matter-of-fact, there wouldn't be enough in the galaxy."

Redouin shook his head, muttering, "Reckless."

Before Louis Scott, the admiral in charge of DS9, stood all the other admirals that fought both the Borg and Dominion. Leonard McCoy, an ancient legend. His great grandson, Victor. Admiral Hendricks, Nsomeka, T'Lara, Owen Parks, and Charles Whatley. The legendary Kathryn Janeway. William Ross. Admiral Grummel. Even the famous Leonard James Akaar.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since the disappearance of Admiral Sisko five years ago, reports have come in concerning our semi-peaceful quadrant. Or, something to that accord. From what I have received, there were sightings of Borg."

"Borg?" Admiral Akaar asked, then condemned almost as quickly as his curiosity was piqued, "Why did you not relay this to the Federation until now? Why wait five years?"

"Transmissions from DS9, Admiral Akaar, take more than three weeks to make it Starfleet Headquarters. You would do well to remember that." Admiral Ross mentioned. "Besides, it is necessary to know the strength and level of danger the threat poses before an action is taken, otherwise it would be a repeat of Wolf 359."

"You would know." Admiral Grummel remarked, the slightest hint of retribution in his voice.

"Yes, I would know." Ross defended.

Louis did not want his colleagues fighting. That would only give the Borg an edge. What he needed to do was bring together this group of admirals. If they were to absolve the four quadrants of the galaxy of the Borg, they needed to work together. He also knew they would be hesitant to listen to him. Betwixt the admirals, Louis had the most intelligence to what happened in this sector of Deep Space.

Suddenly, the door to Louis' office opened. Two men walked into the dimly lit room. One of them a Reman. The human, a man of Asian descent, spoke in a whisper, "I hope we did not arrive too late."

"Not at all," Louis recognized the men, "President Nakamura and Vice President S'Yung."

a/n:

USS James T Kirk (NCC 77771): Niagara Class (refit 2380)

Rigel VII: a planet in the Rigel system, a colony of the Federation

Bajora (Bajor): a planet in the Bajor system, the Bajoran homeworld

Deep Space 9 (Terok Nor): the Cardassian built space station, occupied by the Federation

U'Ban'Magn: an Orion warship

John Christopher Roxford (2331): Captain (2374), USS James T Kirk (2371) [Human]

Data (2/2/2338 – 79, 2379): Captain (2379), USS Enterprise (2361) [Soong-type Android]

Montgomery Scott (2222 – 2375): Captain (2285 – 2375), Vice Admiral (2375) [Human]

USS Enterprise (NCC 1701-E): Sovereign Class

James Tiberius Kirk (3/22/2233 – 2371): Captain (2264 – 70, 2286 – 2371), Rear Admiral (2270 – 81, 2284 – 6, 2371) [Human]

Jean-Luc Picard (7/13/2305): Captain (2355 – 79), Rear Admiral (2379), Ambassador to Vulcan (2371), USS Enterprise (2368 - 79) [Human]

Spock (2230): Captain (2280s), Ambassador to Romulus (2368), Ambassador to Earth (2368) [Vulcan/Human]

Victor McCoy (2365): Rear Admiral (2378), Great Grandson of Leonard H McCoy [Human]

Benjamin Sisko (2332): Rear Admiral (2375), Commander of DS9 (until 2375), USS Defiant (until 2375), MIA (2375) [Human]

Geordi LaForge (2/16/2335): Commander (2379) [Human]

Renquist Mumsford (2340 – 74): Captain (2368 – 74), USS James T Kirk (2368 – 74) [Human]

Louis Victor Scott (2340): Rear Admiral (2379), Commander of DS9 (2375), Great Grandson of Montgomery Scott [Human]

Redouin (2304): Commander (2378), USS James T Kirk (2378), Helmsan (2378), First Officer (2379) [Romulan]

Rebulon XII: a planet in the Forsythe system

USS Spock (NCC 77751): Prometheus Class

USS Montgomery Scott (NCC 77716): Ambassador Class

Worf (2340): Captain (2380), Ambassador to Qo'noS (2365), USS Spock (2380) [Klingon]

Montgomery Scott, III (2366): Captain (2379), USS Montgomery Scott (2379), Great Great Grandson of Montgomery Scott [Human]

Quark (2330s): Owner and Barkeep of Quark's Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade, Grand Nagus (2369, briefly) [Ferengi]

Odo: Constable of DS9 (until 2379), Returned to the Great Link (2379) [Changeling]

Leonard H "Bones" McCoy (2227): Admiral (retired) [Human]

Hendricks: Admiral (pre 2378) [Human]

Nsomeka: Admiral (pre 2367) [Human]

T'Lara: Admiral (pre 2372) [Vulcan]

Owen Parks: Admiral (pre 2376) [Human]

Charles Whatley: Admiral (pre 2373) [Human]

Kathryn Janeway (May 20): Vice Admiral (2379), USS Voyager (2371) [Human]

William J Ross: Vice Admiral (pre 2374), Section 31 (pre 2374) [Human]

Grummel (2299): Admiral (2379) [Effosian]

Leonard James Akaar (2267): Teer of the Ten Tribes (2267 – 72), Refugee (2272 – 84), Admiral (2364) [Capellan]

Akira Nakamura (2329): Fleet Admiral (2379), President of the Federation (2380), Grandson of Admiral Nakamura [Human]

S'Yung (2301): Fleet Admiral (2380), Vice President of the Federation (2380) [Reman]


End file.
